On the evening of Saturday, Oct. 6, the Eta Pi chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta women’s fraternity will be opening up the runway in the Thwing Ballroom from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for its fifth annual KATwalk philanthropy event, a mock fashion show that lets student organizations from across campus flaunt their modeling skills while raising money for Voices for Children, a program created by the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Lorain County.
“It has been a part of our chapter since our founding, which was five years ago in 2007,” said Christie Ellis, Chief Marketing Officer of Case Western Reserve University’s chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta.
Last year, KATwalk raised $2976 and won the Pitte Cup, awarded annually for the most successful Greek philanthropy event on campus. The sorority’s goal this year is to raise an amount close to $3000 once again.
“It is a funny way to get to know the personalities of the different organizations on campus,” said Kate Morgenstern, member of Kappa Alpha Theta and lead organizer of this year’s event. “There are some groups year after year that put together some really awesome outfits.”
This year, student organizations and other Greek chapters will compete for the best and most entertaining personally designed outfits in the following categories: “Case-wear” to show off Spartan pride, “Green-wear” to reflect CWRU’s sustainability efforts, “Patriotic-wear” for the upcoming presidential election, and “your-wear,” a looser category that gives freedom to the participants to dress in a way that represents their organizations.
According to Ellis, teams will be judged by various campus and community figures, including Professor Chris Butler, Colleen Hosler, a Kappa Alpha Theta graduate and last year’s Panhellenic Council president, and a representative from CASA of Lorain County.
“CASA is a very important part of Theta as a whole,” Morgenstern said. The organization facilitates adult community volunteers appointed by juvenile courts to represent the best interests of a child who is involved in court proceedings as a result of abuse or neglect.
“Megan Ritchey, 2010 Kappa Alpha Theta graduate, just finished training to be a guardian ad litem, which means she’s assigned to a child and helps him or her through the judicial process,” Morgenstern said. All money raised at the event will go toward training for CASA’s new legal guardians.
Presale tickets are available through Friday, Oct. 5 in the Nord atrium for three dollars and include a raffle ticket for a total of 14 prizes to be raffled off at the event. Tickets are also available for five dollars at the door.